The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1887-04-15
sWINDLING HER LANDLADY.
An x-Boarding-IIouse Keeper Tells o
Good Story.

"I have at last managed to get out Of
the clearinghouse business, and I can
assure you that nothing on earth will
induce me to take 1t up again for a living
if l can help it" said Mrs. Perry to the
writer.
.. 1t isn't living-it's simply a trying
existence, and that's all, she con-
tinued.
" Every time you pick up a paper. al
most, you come across some hOrrid
joke on the poor boarding-hou keeper
about tough beef and ancient turkeys
but how rarely word about the tough
boarders !-boarderS who find fault with
everything, their room, the service, and
particularly the food.
% Let me tell yCu little story illus
trating what landladles have TO put up
with.
- nice boarder that ] had was such
dear little widow. Young, handsome,
and so charming the young men-and
old ones, too, for that mattcr-at once
pronounced her.
She brought her child, a little girl OF
years, and a maid with her, and took
nv best room for herself and very
good one for the maid, She also had
little sky terrier.
" Her references couldn't have been
better, and besides she had friends
living in the neighborhoOd who moved
in the best society
"Of course she was the most admired
lady in the house; all the men, young
and old, married and single, were crazy
after her, and, singular as il may seem,
the women were too. She paid her
board promptly for three or four weeks
and had numerous extras. She seemed
to have all the money she wanted and
more too.
One day she came to me and said it
was good deal of trouble for her
T., G Ghn mil
her money once month she hated, she
said. to keep so much on hand therefore,
would ii be just as convenient for me to
take it once month?
q Certainly I had no objections. As
il began to be near the time for her
bill to be due noticed that she acted
very depressed and was found crying
once or twice.
Everybody was deeply sympathetic,
but all that could be gotten from her was
that she was worried but thought every
thing would be soon all right. We
mustn't trouble ourselves about her,
she wasn't worth it, was her reply to
inquiries.
{. Finally, one day she sent for me to
come to her room. She was crying ap-
parcntIyvery bitterly. Between her sobs
she managed to tell me that the bank
in which she had kept her money had
failed and she had lost every dollar.
What was she to do?
q" I told her to take things easy and
perhaps something would turn up. Yes,
She thought her friends would help
her. OF course / told her that she was
perfectly welcome to remain where she
was a few days or = week, until she
had made some arrangements.
" I thought at least she might have
offered to change her rooms for smaller
ones so as to give me a chance to
let them. But she did not and not
only that but she found fault with the
table and really made herself very dis
agreeable. and then I was making her a
present OF her board.
" She kept this up until I could not
stand it any longer without giving any
sign of paying up or leaving Then I
spoke to her about it and she resented
nv remarks At this I told her she
must go and that would feel obliged to
keep her luggage until she settled her
bill.
She smiled and said very we'll, and
left that nfght-child, maid, dog and
all Out she went straight to rival
boarding house nearby and took several
of my best boarders. too.
She told them that her remittance
had been only two days late, and that
I had not only refused to wait that short
time for her money, bnt had insulted
her by calling her a sharper and good
ness what all
You can imagine what a storm such
a story created, and my men boarders
were especially furious at me.
" And what do you suppose l found
in that woman's trunks? Two or three
fat irons-to make them heavy, l
suppose-scveral old dresses and lot
OF newspapers. 1 suppose her maid
must have been systematically carry
ing away all her handsome dresses for
some time"